


Affection has no Price tag

by Needs_to_stop_looking_at_valves



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Confusion, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Gift Giving, Swindle is not used to affection essentially
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27355891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Needs_to_stop_looking_at_valves/pseuds/Needs_to_stop_looking_at_valves
Summary: Swindle has been dealing with a client that's different from the rest. He doesn't understand it, not in the slightest. There's no such thing as having something nice without buying it. RIght?
Relationships: Swindle (Transformers)/Other(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Affection has no Price tag

**Author's Note:**

> This is for @misal-the-dragon on tumblr, hope you enjoy!

Swindle was a con mech. He knew there was really no such thing as ‘free’. Even things that bots NEEDED weren’t free. Love, affection, admiration, even just touching someone, came with a price tag. It’s why he didn’t understand this fem. He had met her on some far off planet, and she had immediately taken a shine to him. It was weird (well not the charming part, he could woo a room with a hand tied behind his back), the entire thing. She was...different from most of his clients. She was-

“There you are!”

Here. He turned to face her, and she was just as chipper as ever. She nearly skipped to him, hands behind her back. 

“Yeah, here I am. You DID call me, and I charge by the hour, so.”

“Oh don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten! Sorry I took so long though, I got you a little something!”

He was about to prompt her for the wrapped gift, before she shook her helm.

“Ah ah ah! You know the rules!”

Right. Home first, THEN the treats. He sighed, and gestured for her to guide him. The drive there didn’t take very long, and Swindle made himself welcome. Now, Swindle had been in many homes for many clients, to the point where being in there was no longer weird or uncomfortable. But here, he felt...odd. It was homey, relaxing. He was used to bongs, booze, and bums. But this wasn’t anything like that. This was a nice, comfortable home. The throw pillows, the soft sofa, the modest living room and kitchen. It was too normal for him. She gestured for him to sit, and he obeyed. He watched her slip into the kitchen, leaving the wrapped box on the same sofa he was sitting in. What could even be in the damn thing? He was assuming something pricey, something nicey, just like all the other gifts.

“Hmm. But, she doesn’t strike me as loaded…”

Swindle winced, realizing the awful possibility that it might be something ‘cute’, like a gas station flower, a cheap as hell stuffed animal. Something that he was supposed to be ‘wooed’ by for ‘sentimental’ reasons. Well, it was a good thing he knew better than to be-  
“Here you go!”

Swindle snapped himself out of his thoughts as she appeared by his side. She had a tray of snacks, and a drink. He covered his gut as he realized; he hadn’t refueled in quite some time. He took the tray from her, as well as the drink. Snacks weren’t uncommon in this line of work, though little cookies painted to look like cat faces, were a new one. She sat by his side, putting the wrapped gift in her lap.

“So! How have you been since the last time I saw you?”

“I’ve been alright. You know, still making that cash, as ever.”

“Mhmm.”

She stared at him with such interest, he felt uneasy. Most mechs asked that question as a means of easing into what they wanted. You know, same as any conversation in the history of ever. But here she was, optics bright as stars, honestly wanting more details. He finished off the snacks, and set it to the side. He’s been asked to do a LOT of things for cash, but none of those held a candle to this odd, almost sincere niceness.

“Uh, so, what’s in the box anyhow?”

“Oh right! Here!”

She thrusted it into his lap, and he opened it. It was a necklace. It wasn’t anything special or flashy, like he’d usually expect. It was a small, golden, heart shaped locket. Good for a cheap sell, if anything.

“Hey, thanks. It’s nice.”

He was about to pocket it, before she shook her helm.

“Ah, open it!”

He opened it, and just gazed at the photo. It was a picture of them both. She had snapped a selfie of them when they first met, and he recognized just that picture. He felt queasy. He snapped it close, groaning. 

“Alright, let’s get this over with.”

“Get what over with?”

“Look, you hired me here to be at your house. You fed me, you’re cuddling me, and you gave me a gift. You WANT something from me. Weapons, tools, services? You could just go out and say-”

That was when her chin lightly clunked against his chest.

“You always think someone wants something, Swindle. And I do, in a way. I want your company.”

Swindle has had these kinds before. The lonely, touch starved mechs that’ll take just about anything if it meant not making themselves lonely anymore. He scoffed.

“So you’re lonely.”

“Not really. I have friends. I just really, really like you, Swindle.”

She wrapped her arms around him, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about the pure, intimate contact.

“So...you’ll pay me. For just being here? With you?”

“Mhmm! I like you. You deserve to be liked, to be just a little spoiled, and cuddled. So, let me do that for you.”

She leaned up to peck at his forehead, before she sunk into his side. She was...cuddling him. And he hadn’t done anything to her. After fun time cuddles were a dime a dozen, but this. This was...affection. Swindle draped one of his arms around her, and he couldn't believe the thought he had. Maybe, just maybe.

The best things in life were free.


End file.
